American Civil War
The American Civil War is a map based on the famous war of 1860-1865, which pitted the Union (made up of mainly Northern states) against the Confederacy (a Southern State coalition, which split from the rest of the US). The map has 42 regions and also has varied gameplay, resulting in exciting games. Features Dead Space: A number of regions, five in total have no zone bonus attached to them, due to them being neutral states. Capitals: A specific form of double dipping that that appears as a single or a group of single strategic regions. Strategic Resources: Instead of continents specific regions or combinations of regions provide bonuses. Hold all the Confederate states (made up of three sub-bonuses named after famous Confederate generals) for a +5 zone bonus. Hold all the Union states (made up of three sub-bonuses named after famous Union generals) for a +8 zone bonus. Capture both capitals for a +1 zone bonus. Capture key Southern cities for a +2 zone bonus, capture key Northern cities for a +2 zone bonus also. Ranged one way assaults: Maryland can assault any of the Union ships. Settings Recommended The American Civil War map works well with all types of spoils. This is because there are numerous angles to attack each zone bonus, with few being easy to hold. The map in my view also plays well in fog, particularly in 8 player escalating games and assassin games as it can add a danger factor to the game as one therefore has to take a risk as to where your enemies are hiding. Flat rate or no spoils In this setting, it depends often on where most of your men are clustered, but if you start in a strong position in the North East then it would be best advised to go for the Chamberlain zone bonus due to the fact that it is not easily broken because of its lack of borders if one captures New York as well. As the game progresses, in a build up game one can also move forward and attempt to hold the Sherman zone bonus from there. If most of your men are clustered in the South West then it is a better idea to go for the Beauregard zone bonus, as it only has three regions and therefore is relatively easy to hold. In flat rate and no spoils games, it is less common for your opponents to immediately attempt and break your zone bonuses as they are concentrating on holding their own zone bonuses and therefore a good strategy is to otherwise aim for the the Jackson zone bonus because it offers a large +4 zone bonus each round and can be easily captured if you spend long enough building up around that area, whilst others are concentrating on smaller zone bonuses. There is also the potential to expand from the Jackson zone bonus onto the Lee or the Beauregard zone bonuses as the game progresses. It would be less advised to go for the Key Northern Cities and Key Southern Cities and even sometimes the Capitals zone bonuses in a 3-8 player flat rate or no spoils as this sometimes interferes with other peoples plans regarding what bonuses they are attempting to hold Escalating IBest locations for first round deployment include Kentucky and Maryland, especially Maryland because it has the ability to launch ranged attacks on the Union ships, which can prove beneficial when trying to make eliminations. It is essential however that you do not forget about other some of the corners of the map such as Chamberlain and the boats and therefore this makes regions like New York and Georgia more important, especially New York as it controls access to the Beauregard zone bonus and if you build a big army there, you can block off individuals who are hunting for eliminations. Although, it is discouraged from attempting to take zone bonuses in escalating games, if you start with either Maryland or Virginia, it can be a good idea to capture the other and then reinforce them, giving yourself an easy +1 bonus. Fog of War In Fog of War games on this map it is often a good idea to keep an eye on where all your opponents troops are. Watch the capitals especially or the key cities as your opponent can be very sneaky and capture these from under your eye and if he does, he is given a great advantage. In order to ascertain greatest vision as to where your rivals locations are the best advice would be to try and capture the regions such as Tennessee and Missouri, which are central to the map and have lots of borders with other states. 1v1 In a two player game on the American Civil War, a good starting point is to always go for the Chamberlain bonus. If you capture New York as well early on, you only have one border to hold and with the +2 bonus, you are put in an extremely strong position. Another good zone bonus to go for early on is the Beauregard or Lee zone bonuses, but these are often much harder to hold as they have both three borders to protect and the Lee zone bonus especially is right in the center of the map and is therefore always in danger of being broken. It is also often a sensible idea to try and capture the two capitals, as if you manage to hold them both, the +1 zone bonus can be highly beneficial. Teamgames From the start, the best zone bonuses to aim for immediately are the Capitals zone bonus or the Beauregard zone bonus. If one of your team owns one of the Capitals already then they should assault the other one, whilst the rest of the team reinforce them so that they are able to hold the zone bonus. The Capitals zone bonus works well because of its location, it can prevent your opponents meanwhile trying to hold the Lee or Chamberlain zone bonuses. Otherwise if most of your team is centralized in the south east then capturing and expanding from the Beauregard zone bonus would be better advised, whilst sending your reinforcements towards the North East direction, in order to prevent your opponents from capturing zone bonuses easily there.